APPLE VALLEY — Towing activity here dropped dramatically following a San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury probe last year that found school district police, often with no authority, ordered more than 700 vehicles towed over a 3-year period, a new report shows.
Between September and November 2016 alone, 151 vehicles were towed under the direction of the Apple Valley Unified School District Police Department (AVUSD-PD). That number fell sharply to 29 during a similar period in 2017 — months after release of the 2016-17 Grand Jury’s findings.
The 122-vehicle decrease was noted in the 2017-18 jurors’ report as part of an update meant to determine whether Apple Valley Unified School District (AVUSD) “complied with the recommendations and responses in prior reports.”
Rosie Hinojos, foreperson for the 2017-18 Grand Jury, told the Daily Press “recommendations made in the 2016-2017 Final Report may have been a contributing factor” in the steep decrease.
Similarly, AVUSD Superintendent Thomas Hoegerman said the report caused “a lot of research” within the district. He added that implemented recommendations spurred the reduction.
“We’re not in the towing business, so we want to make sure we’re complying with the (AVUSD) Board’s requests and objectives,” Hoegerman told the Daily Press. “We took (the report) to heart, and we always want to have an outstanding organization. And so we did look at things very carefully to make sure we’re serving our community.”
Between mid-2014 and 2016, AVUSD-PD ordered 727 vehicles towed, a job performed solely by Big Apple Automotive, owned by former Town Councilor Jack F. Collingsworth. Resulting vehicle-release fees sent nearly $54,000 into the district’s general fund, an attorney for AVUSD previously confirmed.
The report that exposed the activity concluded AVUSD-PD had no jurisdiction to charge the fees and, in many cases, no authority to cite and tow vehicles. The Grand Jury was unable to establish any legal basis for the fees because a school police department is not a city, county or state agency.
As a result, it was recommended AVUSD refund release fees, as well as those paid for towing and storage, and offer restitution to owners of an unknown number of vehicles lien sold by Big Apple.
AVUSD “respectfully declined” those recommendations in response. The district noted that courts have long recognized school districts as state agencies, and said it is also granted broad authority under the California Education Code.
Other recommendations, however, were instituted, including the development of a procedure assuring that AVUSD-PD notified vehicle owners of their right to a tow hearing and engagement in a proposal process for towing services.
AVUSD now rotates between three towing companies, including Big Apple, a previous Daily Press report shows. Because documents were not readily available to him, Hoegerman said he could not recall the names of the newer companies.
“They (Big Apple) had to sign disclosure agreements along with the other two,” Hoegerman said. “There was a process that they had to meet certain criteria. We used the (San Bernardino County) Sheriff’s Department list to make sure the criteria matched ... and it was board approved.”
Meanwhile, a 510-vehicle discrepancy between AVUSD and Big Apple tow lists provided to last year’s jurors was also resolved in the latest report — released June 29 — following further testimony from district and company officials.
In early March 2017, a Big Apple witness testified that the company’s list of 217 vehicles was complete and accurate, adding that “the tow facility could not physically handle the number of vehicles that AVUSD-PD authorized for towing,” according to the new report.
In December, before this year’s Grand Jury, AVUSD representatives testified to meeting with Big Apple officials and ultimately accounting for all missing vehicles. February testimony from the tow company, however, was that a meeting with the district never took place.
As a result, the latest report stated the Grand Jury could not confirm whether a meeting took place based on “conflicting sworn testimony of representatives of the AVUSD and the tow company.” With that said, further testimony revealed the company’s list was “neither complete nor accurate,” with Big Apple stating it had “problems with its computers and a broken scanner.”
“After resolving these issues, the tow company found all the vehicles listed on the AVUSD tow list,” the report shows. “The tow company indicated that the tow facility put too much faith in its computer storage system.”
Representatives with Big Apple declined to comment for this story. Hoegerman, meanwhile, reiterated that AVUSD’s testimony “said a meeting took place” when asked about the discrepancy.
“I can’t respond to why their (Big Apple’s) testimony was different,” he said. “Clearly they presented all the information to the Grand Jury later on, which would have prevented the question.”
Hoegerman noted that the official response to the 2016-17 Grand Jury report remains available on the AVUSD website. Those wishing to review the 2017-18 Final Report, as well as previous probes, may visit the “Reports” page of the Grand Jury website.
July 13, 2018
Daily Press
By Matthew Cabe
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